Slashcode

ecsd asks: "If I log in as a normal user and 'create discussion', then when I post the initial article for the discussion I get 'Error: Invalid Form Key xxxxxxxxxx' with a message saying to report the error to SourceForge. I saw there was a variable for 'lenientkey' or such for the site and had already set it to 1 (more lenient?). The error occurs with the unprivileged user, whether from the same subnet or not. I haven't tried posting a discussion-opening post as an admin. How can I ensure I have formkeys set up properly, and how can I diagnose why the errors occur?" Having problems with Formkeys? Then this is the discussion for you. Share your problems, and any solutions you may have used for getting everything working again. I do understand that Formkeys are somewhat of a problem, so I am hoping that those of you who have already gone through the hassle of getting them to work will share your experiences.

automatic-slash asks: "I am new to slash development, and interested in 'automatic, machine-automated content filtering, posting, and machine moderation of threaded discussions.' A couple of questions come to mind. What parts (which source modules) of Slash are responsible for content posting, and discussion moderation (assuming these would be the ones in need of modification for the above purposes)? Any thoughts on how a completely machine-automated Slash system might work? If a group of us eventually makes the above-described modifications, would it be possible (likely?) that they would be incorporated as options into Slash? I know that my description of 'machine-automated content filtering, posting, and moderation' is extremely vague! Please bear with me! I'm looking for a place to get started on this, so any thoughts on the subject would be greatly appreciated, and help with formulating more specific questions and proposals." While it might be slightly more work, it might be better to think about identifying the necessary parts from the first question, and then seeing if this functionality can be placed into a Plugin/Theme combination, rather than trying to change the core modules. Of course, for informational purposes, if any of you Slash developers can identify all of the places in the code responsible for content posting and moderation, it might help others who need this information.

alexmc writes: "I keep on wanting to add lots of FAQ type information to my slash site. Is there a Slashcode compatible FAQ plugin? Should I install FAQ-O-Matic instead? or just use a Wiki? Suggestions wanted folks!" Slash has its own FAQ plugin, included in the CVS distributions, but you might be better off using something else. It would be interesting to note the experiences of those of you using that particular plugin. For those of you not running Slashcode's FAQ code, what have you been using and what have your experiences been dealing with it and its interactions with Slash?

On or around November 10, 2003, the cvs.slashcode.com machine was compromised by an unauthorized attacker. This raises obvious questions about the integrity of the Slash codebase as provided by cvs from that machine; here are the answers.

As many of you have noticed, in early January, that machine was taken offline. Since that time, the Slash programmers have thoroughly audited the entire codebase. We conclude that no unauthorized changes were made -- neither to the publicly-available code as served from that machine, nor to the private code which is used internally on OSDN websites.

Nevertheless, we advise the maintainers of Slash sites which were using post-2.2.6 code from CVS to take several steps to ensure the integrity of their code. Also, to continue accessing new CVS code, it will be necessary to switch to the code's new CVS server at SourceForge.net; please click Read More for more information.

I am considering using Slash as a forum for students to discuss lecture notes before the actual lecture presentation. In this way, they would understand more of the lecture when it is presented and I would receive early feedback from the forum to improve the lecture before it is presented and the notes before they are finalized.

The class has about 200 students. Would the Slash moderation mechanism work well for this purpose?

In particular, students would be expected to moderate postings of their peers. Moreover, I would need access to the moderation logs since students can get marks for moderating.

For more on the subject and the planned lecture preparation, see http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~cs3141.
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Amir Michail